DULLNESS

FAST FIX: MICRODERMABRASION

WHAT HAPPENS: DERMATOLOGIST NIA TEREZAKIS OF NEW ORLEANS, SAYS A FAST WAY TO GET A HEALTHY, YOUTHFUL GLOW IS TO EXFOLIATE THE LAYERS OF DEAD DRY SKIN THAT ACCUMULATE FROM AGE AND SUN EXPOSURE. IN MICRODERMABRASION, A PRESSURIZED JET RENEWS THE SKIN BY SCOURING IT WITH MICRONIZED CRYSTALS (USUALLY ALUMINUM OXIDE) AND THEN VACUUMING DEAD CELLS AWAY. “IT BASICALLY SANDBLASTS THE SKIN,” EXPLAINS MANHATTAN DERMATOLOGIST PATRICIA WEXLER. MICRODERMABRASION CAN BE DONE BY A DOCTOR OR A FACIALIST, TAKES 20 TO 30 MINUTES, AND BRIGHTENS THE SKIN RIGHT AWAY-WHICH IS WHY IT’S OFTEN THE TREATMENT OF CHOICE ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE A REUNION, WEDDING, OR OTHER IMPORTANT APPEARANCE.

RISK: THERE’S A SMALL CHANCE OF AN ABRASION, ACCORDING TO WEXLER.
COST: APPROXIMATELY $50 TO $250 PER TREATMENT FROM A DERMATOLOGIST. A TYPICAL REGIMEN IS A SERIES OF FOUR TO SIX, TWO TO FOUR WEEKS APART, AND THEN SEVERAL TOUCH-UPS A YEAR.

PAIN: SLIGHT STINGING; IT MAY ALSO FEEL HOT.

RECOVERY: THE CRYSTALS TEND TO GET IN THE PATIENT’S HAIR, SAYS WEXLER, SO GOING IMMEDIATELY FROM AN APPOINTMENT TO A JOB INTERVIEW OR A PARTY IS A BAD IDEA. MOST PEOPLE HAVE A SLIGHTLY RAW, ROSY GLOW FOR A FEW HOURS, AND ALL PATIENTS ARE REQUIRED TO STAY OUT OF THE SUN FOR SEVERAL DAYS AFTERWARD.

PIMPLES

FAST FIX: CORTISONE INJECTIONS

WHAT HAPPENS: BLEMISHES OCCUR WHEN A PORE GETS CLOGGED WITH SKIN CELLS, EXCESS OIL, OR BACTERIA. AN INJECTION OF CORTISONE-AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY STEROID-ALSO REDUCES SWELLING, FLATTENING THE ZIT SO THAT ANY REDNESS OR DISCOLORATION CAN BE COVERED BY MAKEUP.

RISK: VIRTUALLY NONE WITH A CONSERVATIVE CONCENTRATION OF STEROID. AN OCCASIONAL INJECTION BY A DERMATOLOGIST IS NOT RISKY, SAYS DERMATOLOGIST DENNIS GROSS.

COST: APPROXIMATELY $50. ACNE IS TECHNICALLY AN INFECTION, SO HEALTH INSURANCE OFTEN COVERS ITS TREATMENT.

PAIN: SPLIT-SECOND DISCOMFORT

RECOVERY: NONE

LINES AND WRINKLES

FAST FIX: BOTOX WITH COLLAGEN (OR OTHER INJECTABLE LINE FILLER)

WHAT HAPPENS: LINES OCCUR WHEN THE SKIN’S COLLAGEN AND ELASTIN ARE DAMAGED-PRI MARILY BY THE SUN, OR BY CIGARETTE SMOKE. BOTOX INJECTIONS TEMPORARILY PARALYZE SOME OF THE UNDERLYING EXPRESSION MUSCLES AROUND THE FOREHEAD, EYES, AND MOUTH; COLLAGEN AND OTHER TEMPORARY FILLERS, PLUMP AND FILL THE SKIN AROUND THE LINES. USING THEM TOGETHER, SAYS BAY AREA DERMATOLOGIST KATIE RODAN, UNDOES THE LONG-TERM DAMAGE MORE QUICKLY. “SOME CREASES DON’T GO AWAY WITH THE FIRST BOTOX TREATMENT,” SHE EXPLAINS. MANY DERMATOLOGIST HAVE OBSERVED THAT WHILE COLLAGEN ALONE IS EFFECTIVE FOR ABOUT TREE MONTHS, WHEN COMBINED WITH BOTOX, IT LASTS FIVE OR SIX MONTHS, SINCE BOTOX PREVENTS THE MOVEMENTS THAT CAN BREAK DOWN COLLAGEN.

RISK: THERE’S A 3.2 PERCENT RISK OF A DROOPING EYELID FROM BOTOX, ALTHOUGH IT SELF-CORRECTS WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR AESTHETIC PLASTIC SURGERY, OTHER POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS INCLUDE HEADACHE, BRUISING, REDNESS, AND FLULIKE SYMPTOMS, BUT MOST COMPLICATIONS ARE BRIEF AND CAN BE AVOIDED WITH PROPER INJECTION TECHNIQUES. COLLAGEN HAS BEEN FDA-APPROVED FOR 25 YEARS, AND ONCE ALLERGY IS RULED OUT, IT’S CONSIDERED SAFE. ANYONE WHO WANTS THE PROCEDURE MUST TAKE UP TO TWO ALLERGY TESTS AT LEAST A MONTH BEFOREHAND.

COST: FOR A TREATMENT WITH BOTOX AND COLLAGEN, EXPECT TO PAY $600 TO $1,000. BOTOX OR COLLAGEN ALONE COSTS ABOUT $400 TO$800 A SESSION.

PAIN: NOBODY ENJOYS A SHOT IN THE FACE, AND SOME PATIENTS ALSO REPORT AN UNPLEASANT CRUNCHING SOUND AS THE NEEDLE GOES IN. BUT THE TYPICAL NEEDLE USED IN THIS PROCEDURE IS “VERY THIN,” SAYS LEFFELL, AND SMALLER THAN THE INJECTION NEEDLES USED FOR VACCINES.

RECOVERY: MOST WOMEN WHO HAVE EITHER BOTOX OR COLLAGEN WALK OUT OF THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE WITH INSTANTLY POOCHEDUP LIPS AND FILLED-IN CROW’S-FEET, HOLLOWS UNDER THE EYES, OR “MARIONETTE LINES” BETWEEN MOUTH AND NOSE, SAYS WEXLER. SOMETIMES A PATIENT WILL HAVE PRICK MARKS, OR A BRUISE AT THE SITE OF THE INJECTION, SHE ADDS, BUT THERE’S TYPICALLY NO DOWNTIME.

DARKSPOTS

FAST FIX: LASER, SUCH AS THE YAG AND RUBY, WHICH TARGET BROWN PIGMENT.

WHAT HAPPENS: BROWN SPOTS CAN BE GLOBULES OF COLOR ON THE SURFACE OF THE SKIN, LIKE MELASMA, OR DEEPER GROWTHS, INCLUDING SUN SPOTS AND FRECKLES. LASERS USE INTENSELY FOCUSED LIGHT TO TARGET AND VAPORIZED PIGMENT. WOMEN WHO HAVE ONLY A FEW SMALL BROWN SPOTS MAY GET CLEAR, UNFRECKLED COMPLEXIONS FROM A SINGLE HALF-HOUR SESSIONS; LARGER, DEEPER SEATED SPOTS WILL NEED AT LEAST A FEW MORE SESSIONS FOR RESULTS.

RISK: IN VERY RARE CASES, LASERS CAN CAUSE SCARRING. AND” BECAUSE YOU’RE TARGETING PIGMENTATION, THERE’S A RISK OF TEMPORARY WHITE SPOTS,”LEFFELL SAYS. “BUT THEY TYPICALLY SETTLE DOWN IN A DAY OR TWO AND BLEND IN WITH THE REST OF YOUR SKIN.”

COST: SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS PER SESSION. FOR BEST RESULT, SOME WOMEN MAY NEED AS MANY AS FIVE SESSIONS.

PAIN: A LASER ZAP FEELS LIKE THE SNAP OF A RUBBER BAND. A SPOT THE SIZE OF A QUARTER TAKES ABOUT 15 ZAPS IN A VISIT. BUT DOCTORS TYPICALLY USE A NUMBING CREAM BEFOREHAND.

RECOVERY: WITHIN 24 HOURS, THERE WILL BE A SCAB WHERE EACH BROWN SPOT WAS. GROSS TELLS HIS PATIENTS TO ALLOW FIVE DAYS FOR THEM TO HEAL. SOME LASERS LEAVE BRUISES FOR A DAY OR TWO ABOUT THE SIZE OF A PENCIL ERASER.